Marsala Beef Stew/ Pantone Color of the Year 2015

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! We were lucky enough to finally get a blanket of snow late on Christmas Eve, waking to a beautiful winter wonderland.  It was a nice, relaxing day filled with family, love and laughter. We indulged in so many sweets and food; I think I'll need a head start on the usual fitness resolutions to recover!

My Mom was given a new Cuisinart food processor from my dad and she gave me a beautiful new set of  Wüsthof Classic Ikon Knives. We cooked the day away with our new gadgets, along with my sister, Erin. It was great to spend time together in the kitchen and satisfy all of our food cravings. 

With all of the sweets we consumed, I was ready for something warm, comforting and salty this weekend.

Beef stew sounded like the perfect solution! Is there anything better than a salty and beefy dish full of mouth pleasing savour? Made in the crock pot, this dish cooks itself slowly all day, filling the house with the most delicious and enticing scent imaginable.

With the holidays in full swing, I've had a lot of wine around the house. If I'm not drinking it, I'm cooking with it. We all know that beef stew is enhanced with the flavor of red wine. For a fun twist on the classic, I decided to try using Marsala. Seeing as Marsala was just announced as the Pantone Color of the Year for 2015, this recipe is the perfect way to celebrate and start the new year off with a bang! Red is my favorite color, so I was thrilled to see that this stunning shade of wine will be the highlight through the next year.

Much like the fortified wine that gives Marsala its name, this tasteful hue embodies the satisfying richness of a fulfilling meal while its grounding red-brown roots emanate a sophisticated, natural earthiness. This hearty, yet stylish tone is universally appealing and translates easily to fashion, beauty, industrial design, home furnishings and interiors.

"Marsala enriches our mind, body and soul, exuding confidence and stability. 

Marsala is a subtly seductive shade, one that draws us in

to its embracing warmth. "

Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director, Pantone Color Institute^®

The Versatility of Marsala

• Equally appealing to men and women, Marsala is a stirring and flavorful shade for apparel and accessories, one that encourages color creativity and experimentation
• Flattering against many skin tones, sultry and subtle Marsala is a great go-to color for beauty, providing enormous highlight for the cheek, and a captivating pop of color for nails, shadows lips and hair.
• Dramatic and at the same time grounding, the rich and full-bodied red-brown Marsala brings color warmth into home interiors
• An earthy shade with a bit of sophistication, texture is the story in print and packaging. A matte finish highlights Marsala’s organic nature while adding a sheen conveys a completely different message of glamour and luxury.

Pantone has been selecting a color of the year to reflect the mood and current way of life since 2000. To do this, Pantone's panel of color experts meet in an undisclosed location to discuss current world events, trends and moods; transforming these findings into a color representation for that year. The company has been the color authority of the world for over 50 years, integrating every industry from fashion and beauty, to textiles and home decor. I find their work very fascinating and love to see their choices trickle down into everyday items, like Marsala colored coffee mugs or a rich and luscious lipstick. The color theory reminds me of this scene in "The Devil Wears Prada" when Miranda comments on "Ahndreyah's" Cerulean Blue (Pantone COTY 2000) sweater.

All this talk of fashion and color has made me starving! I think I'll dish up a warm bowl of Marsala Beef Stew and cozy up with a nice glass of wine and a movie. Sunday snow days are my favorite. Enjoy!

Marsala Beef Stew

 Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
• 2 pounds boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 2-inch cubes, divided
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1 lb. bag of frozen pearl onions, thawed
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted tomato paste
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sweet Marsala wine, divided
• 1½ cups low sodium beef stock
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 8 ounces small button mushrooms
• 4 large carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire
• 1 tablespoon Soy Sauce or Amino Acids
• Thyme sprigs
• Mashed potatoes for serving*

Directions:

1.    Heat a large, heavy cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add half of beef; cook 8 minutes or until well browned, turning to brown on all sides. Place browned beef in a 6-quart electric slow cooker; sprinkle with ⅛ teaspoon salt. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 tablespoon oil, remaining beef, and ⅛ teaspoon salt.

2.    Add garlic to pan; sauté 1 minute. Add tomato paste; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add 1/4 cup wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook 2 minutes or until half of liquid evaporates. Add stock and pepper; bring to a simmer. Carefully pour stock mixture into slow cooker; nestle thyme sprigs into liquid. Top beef mixture with mushrooms; scatter carrots over top.

3.    Place the lid on the crock pot, and cook on LOW for 7 hours. (High for 4-5, but might not be quite as tender)

4.    Add onions to cooking skillet; cook 1 minute on each side or until browned. Add 1/4 cup of wine, 1 tablespoon or Worcestershire and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce to pan, reduce by half, adding liquid and onions to slow cooker. Cook an additional 30 minutes while you make the mashed potatoes.

5.    Strain mixture through a colander over the same large skillet used to brown the meat; discard thyme sprigs. Bring cooking liquid to a boil; cook 6 minutes or until liquid is reduced to 2 cups. Stir in remaining ¾ teaspoon salt. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons wine and flour, stirring with a whisk to form slurry. Stir into cooking liquid; cook 1 minute or until bubbly and thickened, stirring constantly. Pour over beef mixture; toss gently to combine.

6.    *Serve the stew on a bed of mashed potatoes in a pasta bowl, garnished with freshly cracked pepper and thyme leaves.

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light December 2014 

Guinness Irish Beef Stew

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I decided to ditch the classic corned beef and cabbage route (incidentally is not even an Irish dish) and go for a hearty bowl of beef stew with an Irish twist. While researching the history of Irish stew, I came across this article from History.com:

The first St. Patrick’s Day parade took place not in Dublin but in New York City, in 1762. Over the next 100 years, Irish immigration to the United States exploded. The new wave of immigrants brought their own food traditions, including soda bread and Irish stew. Pork was the preferred meat, since it was cheap in Ireland and ubiquitous on the dinner table. The favored cut was Irish bacon, a lean, smoked pork loin similar to Canadian bacon. But in the United States, pork was prohibitively expensive for most newly arrived Irish families, so they began cooking beef—the staple meat in the American diet—instead.

I hope you all have a great day celebrating this fun Irish-American holiday, even if it has morphed into something completely unrelated to the origin. It's still fun to wear green, eat great food, and enjoy a lively celebration of Irish culture with family and friends. 

INGREDIENTS: 

2 T. vegetable oil

4 T. cornstarch

1 Lb. beef stew meat 

¼ teaspoon each salt and black pepper

1 yellow onions, minced

1 T. tomato paste

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 cups beef stock

1 12 oz. bottle of Guinness draught, reserving a generous splash for serving. 

2 T. dark brown sugar

4-5 sprigs of thyme, minced

2 T. fresh parsley, minced

4 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

DIRECTIONS:

1. Remove the upper oven rack, leaving the lower-middle rack in position for your pot of stew.  Preheat to 325 degrees F.

2. Mix cornstarch, salt and pepper in a large plastic bag. Add beef and shake until coated.

3. Heat the oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the beef and brown for 5-10 minutes. Remove the beef to a plate and set aside.  Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned, 5-7 minutes. Now add the tomato paste and garlic and cook for 2 and additional 2 minutes.

4.  Whisk in the beef broth, ¾ cup of the Guinness, brown sugar and thyme, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Add the beef back to the pot and return to a simmer.

5. Transfer the pot to the oven and cook, uncovered, for 90 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking.

6. Add the potatoes and carrots, give a good stir and continue cooking until the beef and vegetables are tender, about 1 hour, stirring halfway through cooking. Remove the pot from the oven and stir in the remaining splash of Guinness. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish each bowl with fresh chopped parsley and a crusty slice of bread or a German pretzel with mustard and serve.